Hundreds show up for Boone County Fair's 68th ham breakfast

Hams are displayed at the Boone County Fair Ham Breakfast on Saturday. The hams are part of the open ham group, and the majority of them were entered by adults and non-4H members.
|Amy Bruer

Former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson, left, assisted by Boone County Fair Board President Harold Cunningham, right, presents Audrey Brush with her award for having the champion ham at the Boone County Fair Ham Breakfast on Saturday.
|Amy Bruer

The winning ham entered by Audrey Brush is displayed at the Boone County Fair Ham Breakfast on Saturday. The ham was sold at auction for $1,000.
|Amy Bruer

Audrey Brush waits as bids are placed on her first prize ham at the Boone County Fair Ham Breakfast on Saturday. Host Roger Wilson had Audrey stand on a chair, so the audience could see her as her ham was being auctioned off.
|Amy Bruer

More than 350 people came out to the Boone County Fair ham breakfast on Saturday morning. Ten-year-old Audrey Brush had the prize-winning ham, which was auctioned off for $1,000.

Former Gov. Roger Wilson hosted the event for the 19th year in a row. He greeted people over the microphone as they stood in line waiting for breakfast. Wilson introduced the fair's royalty and those who helped put together the fair.

During the breakfast, candidates for political office worked the room. Candidates often come to this event to show support for the fair, to talk to voters and buy hams, said Eli Tinker-Fortel, a member of Missouri House candidate John Wright's campaign staff.

But 10-year-old Audrey Brush was the real star of the day. Audrey had cured the grand champion ham, and she and her father sat at Wilson's table surrounded by fair officials and the fair royalty.

When the auction got underway, her prize-winning ham sold for $1,000.

This was Audrey's first time entering the annual competition. However, her parents, Dan and Nancy Brush, have been participating in the Boone County Fair for about eight years in breads, theater arts and international foods.

The secret to Audrey's ham was that it was cured in salt and then smoked. She didn't expect to win.

"I was really surprised and happy," she said.

Wilson had Audrey stand on a chair, so the audience could see her as her ham was being auctioned off.

"I just wanted you to see Audrey, that's all," Wilson said.

Audrey knows exactly how she's going to use the money: on her future. She said that she's going to split her money in half, saving some for college and saving the other half for a car.

But her eyes lit up when her father offered another suggestion.

"Maybe you could use your money toward buying a horse," Dan Brush said.